Monday, November 5, 2012

A Week After Sandy

New York City Bus service is back to normal and the city’s subway
service is nearly fully restored, thus my morning commute was a little more
normal than it was last Friday.School
was back in session for the first time in a week, which meant that I had
students preparing to take the GED.Fortunately, the classroom I teach in had been thoroughly cleaned and
repaired after Sandy damaged it.

A new employee reported to work today, her first day of work
postponed a few days because of Sandy.She lives in Far Rockaway, except now she is staying with friends near
Jamaica, Queens because her home is still without power.Other members of her family are living in two
other places other than home. She spoke of having flood water in her basement,
the water now pumped out, and the contents of the basement thrown out.She described the eeriness of dark, quiet
nights associated with her neighborhood being powerless, and planning to go home
tomorrow to vote, although she is not sure where she will have to vote.She described the presence of the American
Red Cross, FEMA, the National Guard, and other relief and emergency responders,
grateful for their presence.

Local media (a New Yorker never really knows what is local
and national when it comes to media) makes it clear that there are still
sections of the New York City without power.At least one subway tunnel under the East River is still partially
flooded.People are still lining up for
gasoline but we are promised that the situation will ease within a couple days.
I still have half a tank in the car, filled up the Saturday night before the
hurricane.The mayor’s office estimates
that twenty to forty thousand New Yorkers have been left homeless due to Sandy
and FEMA knows that in our urban environment, mobile homes will not even be a
temporary solution.My wife and I have
offered to share our warm home with two different people whose homes are cold
and without power, but both have chosen to remain where they are.

Meanwhile, a Nor’easter has the disaster zone in its sight,
threatening winds up to fifty miles per hour, heavy rain, and snow inland and
perhaps even near the coast as early as Wednesday and no later than
Thursday.

I am tempted to write that life in New York City will
eventually return to normal, maybe in a few weeks or months, at least for some
if not many, but I think New York City and Normal is an oxymoron when used in
the same sentence.

1 comment:

Thanks for sharing the city view. Here in Baldwin, Long Island, everything is so scattered. I'm sitting here with power and light but if I cross Atlantic Avenue nobody has power. If I go a few more blocks down into Freeport it's like walking into a war zone there is so much devastation. Such contrast in a such a small area is far from normal. Not looking forward to the N.East-er. Most folks are choosing to stay where they are, rather than accept offers of hospitality. Sad to say there has been some looting and I'm guessing folk want to guard the little stuff they have left! And gas? Long lines... but seems they are getting shorter. All the best to ya. On the positive side there's a lot of folk reaching out to each other... and a lot of serious thought about what really matters in life. When all the 'stuff' is swept away... what is there?